Is the Bean Protocol Too Restricting?

Health

Aug 11

Written By Yazzi | Intuitive Wellness Coach

There are a lot of conflicting views on the protocol. One group is worried about what they’re giving up to be on the protocol, while others are focused on the health they’re gaining.

Let’s talk about these opposing views and potential influences.

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The protocol is too restrictive for people who have been hurt by Diet Culture and/or have experienced an eating disorders

When I first heard that I couldn’t have caffeine, chocolate, and had to remove all the yummy scents in my home, I thought Karen Hurd was Koo Koo for cocoa puffs. How was it even possible to do??

But since I’m working on my subconscious beliefs using the power of neuroscience, I knew that my discomfort had to do with something else entirely.

Like you, my life is filled with subliminal messaging that skinny is best, and the only way to get thin and ultimately loved is by dieting. Even saying that word DIET gives me the heebie-jeebies!

For so long, I’ve been trained by my community and marketing to feel guilty by ALL foods.

Beans are bad because they make you fart
Broccoli is terrible because it makes you fart
CARBS are so bad for you because they turn into sugar
Only eat things with zero fat because when you eat fat, you get fat
Keto is great because all you eat is fat!
Dairy is the devil
Soy is the spawn of satan and will kill your ovaries!

The list is endless, but it’s hard to believe that many of these foods aren’t right for you when they have been apart of many cultures and are a vital component of the Blue Zone’s nutrition plan.

And when I look back at my childhood, my mom always made beans. We were eating them 3-4x a week regularly, but as I got into my teens, I stopped eating them as much because my white friends teased me about how beans make you fart.

My imperfect 13-year-old self had a hard time being a curvy awkward Mexican teen in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so that moment stuck in my mind, and I cut down on my bean consumption to nothing. (noting it wasn’t my friend’s fault, I made this decision because I had low self-worth and chose to fit in).

Next, the calorie fad happened, and I searched through everything that was low cal (but high on sugar).

Throughout that time, I watched my mom take pills to help her lose weight, my sister binge on Jenny Craig and Buns of Steel Videos, and I thought it was customary to restrict and hurt yourself to be skinny.

Over time, these messages broke me down. I stopped listening to my body, I stopped giving it the foods it needed, and I let my brain and taste buds make all the decisions.

Trying all the diets/fads

When people say, “I don’t want to restrict myself anymore.” I fucking get it! This messaging is the reason why our health is suffering.

Along with the massive stress we have in our daily lives, that is a cocktail for complete health destruction.

There are so many diets and new ways of getting slim, reaching your goal weight, fitting into that bikini blahdy blah blah. All of which use guilt, shame, and a one-size-fits-all solution to achieve the perfect body.

And I’ve tried so many of them!

I restricted all of my carbs and only consumed veggies and meat.
I went vegan
Macrobiotic
Eating small portions and snacking often
Keto
Whole 30
Intermittent Fasting
Tried throwing everything up
Tried not eating at all

And everything worked, but never long-term. Of course, these diets are not sustainable - our bodies have needs! Stressing and worrying about if you’ve done a diet right or wrong, or if you’re “cheating” only causes more stress, which prevents your body from healing!

Honestly, my initial disgust of the bean diet wasn’t about restricting foods. It was about trying something else that guaranteed it would work like all the diets/fads I tried. I don’t think I could bare feeling like I was never meant to feel healthy. That feeling sluggish, disgusting, and overweight would be my new norm forever.

Is the bean protocol too restrictive? It is for people who have grown up on diets and have body DYSMORPHIA.

The truth is, yes, it can be restrictive for people who have suffered from the constant messaging from magazines, Hollywood, and our general social experiences, that you are not loved unless you’re thin.

If this is you, I highly recommend proceeding the protocol with a qualified therapist/nutritionist/doctor who can help you let go of these hurtful beliefs - that are 100% not valid - so you can learn to nourish and listen to your body.

Slowly but surely, you’ll begin to see the health benefits from removing the sludge from your liver, and eat foods, regardless of the calorie count, that nourish you!

Also, you may even be able to add beans to your diet and still see hella benefits without caffeine or sugar limitations.

Bean Protocol is a Healing Protocol- not a diet!

It’s easy to confuse these because, on a diet, you restrict yourself. But on a healing protocol, you don’t consume certain foods until your body becomes healthy enough to properly process them!

Why would you eat fruit when they’re aiding in making you feel worse? Trust me, I love fruit! They’re delicious! Blueberry pancakes, fresh strawberries in summer, mangos on a stick with chili! I love it all!

You don’t drive a car on a flat tire. Why do we push ourselves to do more when we’re tired?

When it comes to our bodies, we’re continually mounting more work, more exercise, more everything when we need to do less. I mean, look at the way our bodies heal from a cut or a broken bone.

When we get an open wound and it stops bleeding, the skin scabs over, which is an itchy process because your body is creating new skin.

When we break a bone, doctors recommend rest and elevation to help with the swelling. No doctor ever tells you to run on a broken foot because it will make it worse!

But when it comes to internal medicine, we use the “if I can’t see it; therefore it must not exist” methodology.

Just because I can’t see how my body is processing the foods, I assume they are suitable for me - but then why am I tired all the time? Why do I still have brain fog? Even when I’ve been living a healthy life? It doesn’t make sense!!

What the protocol says: heal your body by removing the excess hormones from your liver, stop putting your body through extra stress by removing stimulants, which include all sugars (even fruit), fragrances, caffeine, so that your body can start the healing process - also known as the scabbing over/itching process - which often results in gas, bloating, extreme fatigue, adrenaline rushes.

I know some of the side effects aren’t pretty, but there isn’t a magic pill to health! There will never be a magic pill that will stop you from having an uncomfortable detox or a comfortable healing process.

Once your body can start naturally regulating the nourishment of the veggies and lean protein you eat, your body can and will heal.

Trusting your body not your mind

In the end, it’s genuinely about tapping into what your body needs, NOT what your mind thinks it needs. We’ve all been told way too many lies about what health looks and feels like, but unless you’ve experienced proper health for yourself, you have no clue. I personally think that’s what corporate America wants, because how else will they stay billionaires.

But I think many of us know what it feels like to be unhealthy. So if giving up some food for the short term will help me get healthy, I’m going to do it. I think once I feel healed, I’ll be able to decide if I want to enjoy fruit or not.

And the good news is that you have the same choice too!

What do you think? Is the protocol too restrictive, or do you believe that you need to stop consuming certain foods to heal your body?